There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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New Candidate for Jakarta Governor Race

So Sarwono Kusumaatmadja has pulled out of the Jakarta governor race. But to replace him, a new candidate has just stepped in:

sponge bob
Sponge Bob Square Pants


Stated Policies

Education: Improvement of education in Jakarta through compulsory viewing of his educational TV show on Global TV for all children aged 5 to 16.

Economy: Manufacturing and retailing of Sponge Bob merchandise, either through traditional retailers (small kiosks and the like) or at the huge number of shopping malls that are mushrooming up just about everywhere at the moment.

Flood mitigation: No need to bother with any flood canals or anything - Sponge Bob and his mates like a watery environment.

Health: Eat more fresh fish – it’s good for you - instead of the fat drenched nasi goreng rubbish.

Transportation: Just stay at home and off the roads okay?

For inside info on the other cartoon characters in the Jakarta governor race see my previous post. Some of ‘em - even have a Harley Davidson or four!

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